Form I 526 Petition by Entrepreneur to Immigrate to the United States

Form I-526 Step-by-Step Instructions

USCIS Form I-516 is intended for only entrepreneurs that wish to petition the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for immigration to the United States through an EB-5 Visa, under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration Act of 1990. Please note that this form is an immigration application that is only intended for alien entrepreneurs that wish to immigrate to the United States.

1. Print out the form on the USCIS website, free of charge.

To download USCIS Form I-526, check out this page on the official website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: https://www.uscis.gov/i-526. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed, which you can download for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/. If you do not have internet access or access to a printer, call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 and request to have a form mailed to you.

2. Make sure to physically sign your name to the application.

Valid Form I-526 submissions must include a signature that was actually signed by the applicant. The USCIS will not accept petitions with stamped signatures or a typewritten name in place of a signature.

3. Include the Form I-526 filing fee.

Each petition must be accompanied by payment for the filing fee, which as of July 2017 was $3,675. Make sure to check the USCIS website or call the number previously provided for the current filing fee.

4. Provide evidence and supporting documentation.

You must submit all of the evidence and supporting documentation required at the time of filing. This means that you’ll need to provide everything up front. For more information on the evidence and supporting documentation required for this form, visit the USCIS website.

5. Be prepared to schedule a biometric services appointment.

Citizenship and Immigration Services may ask at any time for an interview or require fingerprints, a headshot, and/or signature to verify your identity, obtain additional information and conduct background and security checks. This includes a criminal background check from records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). You will be informed in writing from the USCIS if you will be required to attend a biometric services appointment. The notice will provide the location of the appointment or a designated USCIS Application Support Center as well as the date and time of your appointment. If you are currently abroad or unable to make the appointment, you may contact a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to schedule another appointment.

6. Make copies all of the documents and forms.

It is recommended that you submit legible photocopies of the documents and evidence requested unless instructions state explicitly for the original document (in which case, save the legible copies for your records). Please also keep in mind that USCIS may request an original document at any time so be prepared. The original document will likely be returned to you after USCIS no longer needs it, but may not if your original documents remain a part of the record. In this case, your original documents may be destroyed upon receipt. The message here is to be sure that you make copies of everything.

7. Don’t leave anything blank on the Form.

Be sure to complete all sections of the form because the Form will be rejected if some fields are missing. If all else fails, make sure that these three fields aren’t blank, as they will result in an immediate petitional denial:

Family name

Mailing address

Signature

8. File the form to the correct address.

You need to submit your completed Form I-526 to the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility. This can be accomplished by mail via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or a private delivery service (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.). There are two separate addresses for each so be sure to note the differences below.